1. Field of the Invention
One aspect of the present invention generally related to a computer-implemented method and system for grouping receipts, and more specifically, to a computer-implemented method and system for grouping and summarizing receipts.
2. Background Art
In distributed enterprises, for example multi-national manufacturing companies, a multitude of invoices can be generated by suppliers for direct materials (i.e. production) and indirect materials (i.e. non-production). Because of the shear number of invoices being generated, it is often difficult for suppliers to reconcile invoice and remittance information. These difficulties in reconciling remittance information from within the supplier realm often necessitate not only all direct suppliers but also all indirect suppliers receiving electronic data exchange (EDI) remittance files. Another negative resulting from the vast number of generated invoices is that many business units continue to print paper invoices while processing the invoices. This has a cost implication for both the manufacturer and the supplier.
Oracle has introduced limited functionality to perform daily grouping and summaries of receipts solely for receipts created on a given day for a given supplier. These receipts can be grouped onto one invoice depending on currency, payment term and date the receipt is generated. This type of grouping and summarizing is not sufficient for many distributed enterprises.
The current level of summarization and grouping, as described above, does not meet the particular corporate business requirements globally. There is a need for greater flexibility within the system to accommodate the various local business guidelines within the self-billing environment, which is characterized by the purchaser generating billing on behalf of the supplier.
In light of the foregoing, what is needed is a computer-implemented method and system for grouping and/or summarizing receipts that reduces the amount of paper invoices and/or removes the necessity of transmitting EDI remittance files to the suppliers.